[meteorite-list] Hal Povenmire Contact Info?

From: lebofsky at lpl.arizona.edu <lebofsky_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 16:24:59 -0700 (MST)
Message-ID: <2211.71.226.60.25.1179012299.squirrel_at_timber.lpl.arizona.edu>

Hal's email address was at the end of his article in Meteorite magazine in
February (and has been sent to Geoff).

On Sat, May 12, 2007 3:45 pm, Sterling K. Webb wrote:
> Hi, Everybody,
>
>
> Ah, this is the internet at its most typical.
>
>
> Before characterizing a man's work, you really
> ought to know something about them. Try: b. 1939; meteor observer and
> photographer of over 2000 fireballs; discovered the upsilon Perseids;
> first to map the full Georgiaite strewnfield; worked on the Baker-Nunn
> Satellite tracking cameras; worked
> for Project Apollo; and some of his bits'n'pieces are still sitting on the
> Sea of Tranquility; has 190
> publications. Carolyn Shoemaker named asteroid (12753) Povenmire after him.
> http://www.astronomytoday.com/astronomy/interview3.html
> (also includes a summary of the lunar origin theory)
>
>
> Povenmire's last book, "Tektites: A Cosmic
> Paradox" (1997), contains a perfectly reasonable
> summary of tektites generally, much information about Georgiaites, on which
> Povenmire is
> something of an authority.
>
> It then has a series of essays about the origin
> question, first by John O'Keefe, who supported lunar origin, and another by
> the foremost geochemical authority on tektites, the appropriately named
> Billy
> Glass, who supports terrestrial origin. Then, we get
> O'Keefe's answers to Glass, and Glass's answers to
> O'Keefe, and back and forth again... each of whom
> have points the other has trouble with.
>
> The is also a completely balanced bibliography
> (199 items) of all the major scientific papers (up to
> the date of publication. Whether he's changed his mind about the origin of
> tektites in the last ten years, I can't say (I've changed mine about 7-8
> times, altho I never liked the Moon as the culprit).
>
>
> He published an enlarged edition of this book in
> 2003. He's changed the subtitle from "paradox" to
> "enigma." See The Meteorite Times:
> http://www.meteorite-times.com/Back_Links/2003/January/Tektite_of_Month.ht
> m which also gives his address: Hal Povenmire
> 215 Osage Dr.
> Indian Harbour Beach, FL 32937-3508
>
>
> The telephone directory says his phone number is
> (321) 777-1303. As far as finding him goes, I get
> about 2000 hits on Google with his name. Shouldn't be too hard to find if
> you have a computer and a minimum of two fingers.
>
> As far as tektites being settled, over and done with,
> finished, as a puzzle, forget it. There are still plenty of unexplained
> inconsistencies for every theory to be embarrassed by. One problem is that
> what most people think of as "one" theory, like the impact theory, is
> really multiple impact theories. Glass's impact theory (requires
> silt-sized sand grains but not coarse grains) is contradictory to Melosh's
> impact theory (tektites derived from deep sediments) which contradicts the
> impact theory that derives them from surface deposits, and so on. All the
> impact theories are different!
>
>
> Sterling K. Webb
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mike Fowler" <mqfowler at mac.com>
> To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Cc: "Mike Fowler" <mqfowler at mac.com>
> Sent: Saturday, May 12, 2007 3:09 PM
> Subject: [meteorite-list] Hal Povenmire Contact Info?
>
>
>
>> [meteorite-list] Hal Povenmire Contact Info?
>>
>>
>> Michael L Blood mlblood at cox.net
>> Sat May 12 15:28:44 EDT 2007
>>
>>
>> Previous message: [meteorite-list] Hal Povenmire Contact Info?
>> Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]
>>
>>
>>
>> on 5/12/07 11:24 AM, Mike Fowler at mqfowler at mac.com wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Before the ion microprobe, isotope analysis, and actual lunar
>>>
>> samples
>>
>>> for comparison, the lunar origin of tektites was tenable.
>>
>>>
>>
>>> Now it is not, and I wonder how someone who clings to a disproved
>>>
>>
>>> hypothesis can be considered to be eminent in his field?
>>
>>>
>>
>>> Mike Fowler
>>>
>>
>>> Chicago
>>>
>>
>> ---------
>> Hi Mike,
>> Not to be argumentative, but to add some perspective,
>> 1) "Disproved" is relative.
>> 2) If everyone in science lost all credibility whenever their
>> perspective clashed with the majority of other scientists in their field
>> not only would there be a huge loss in the number of scientists, but
>> many of the greatest scientists in history would have gone unheard (and
>> many have, no doubt). 3) Some might consider your above statement to be
>> based in arrogance. Certainly it is founded in a narrow definition, if
>> not outright misconception, of what is and what isn't "scientifically
>> acceptable." 4) Some of the greatest figures of science clear back to
>> the Greeks held beliefs difficult to imagine. Freud, unquestionably
>> the "founder" of psychology dramatically over emphasized sex, was himself
>> a sexist & believed "psychoanalysis" was an effective "treatment." (as a
>> result, many still do, in spite of results of comparative studies
>> involving other forms of psychotherapy). None of which makes the other
>> 95% of Freud's work one whit
>> less monumental, any more than Plato believing in spontaneous generation
>> undermines his significance. Best wishes, Michael
>>
>
>
> Michael,
>
>
> Here's the best analogy I can think of.
>
>
> I'm sure you've heard of the New Jersey Iron object that crashed
> through a roof and was hastily declared a meteorite. If the scientists
> involved continued to insist it was a meteorite after an analysis showed
> that chemically it was man made and not chemically consistent with being a
> meteorite, what would you think?
>
> I for one, would begin to doubt whether he is a good scientist. It
> has nothing to do with arrogance, or scientific acceptability. It has to do
> with making a hypothesis, testing it, and if contradicted by the evidence,
> moving on.
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
> Mike Fowler
>
>
>
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Received on Sat 12 May 2007 07:24:59 PM PDT